Therapeutic Use Of Fish Oil for Apraxia, Autism Etc.

“Every so often, scientists really do discover a substance of transformative power, one with the ability to cure the previously incurable and improve the quality of life for the rest of us. Omega-3 fatty acids — a component of simple fish oil, once so prevalent in our diet but now largely absent — could be such a substance.”~ Harvard Medical School doctor, Andrew Stoll, MD

Basic information about fish oil supplementation for children with speech delays, impairments, or multifaceted communication impairments

What is the best fish oil for my baby or child?

My son Tanner didn’t like fish oils but they helped him greatly

The confusion is more the brand names than the formulas. In actuality there really is no such thing as a “children’s fish oil” as fish oil is fish oil. However fish oils can be marketed to appear to be just for children by making cuter bottles, fun flavorings, smaller capsules. In general you will find the “Jr” marketed fish oils to be about twice as expensive because they are typically half dosage for around the same cost.

Most parents squeeze the oil out of the capsule anyway -so if anything a larger capsule would be easier for a child. The one time you may want to consider paying twice as much for fish oil with the “Jr” marketed fish oil capsules is when you want to teach your older child to swallow the fish oils capsules.

Fish oils are also known by the following names

Essential Fatty Acids or EFAs

Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids or PUFAs

Long-Chain Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids or LCPs

Omega 3s or O3

Tanner Geng who’s been on fish oils since 2 year’s old

Dr. Stordy and Malcolm Nicholl co authored The LCP Solution and my son Tanner’s story is the first one in the book under apraxia “The Lellow Breakthrough“

Malcolm was one of my co authors of the book The Late Talker as well. The LCP Solution or the Omega 3 Connection are both excellent books for general info about why EFAs (or LCPs/PUFAs/stinky fish oils, are essential to our bodies, have to be consumed, but are virtually lacking in our diets today.

What improvements should I look for when I start my child on fish oils?

Since I receive lots of calls about this -I wanted to list the most common changes in an apraxic or other speech disordered child on EFAs from what I’ve read and heard and seen. Most of the following are for children that were essentially nonverbal previous to supplementation.

Increase in babbling or attempts at sounds.

Increase in imitation.

Changes also can be looked for in (what you see as positive or negative)

sleep

attention

appetite

focus

behavior

stools

Next will come a breakthrough of something you were probably working on for a bit -so you will be excited but will think “Well -I don’t want to get my hopes up we were working on that for awhile now -maybe it’s just a coincidence” However after the second or third surge in a short period of time -and then another – you are pretty sure things are different and it’s at this point the professionals and the rest of the family and your friends are noticing it too – maybe about two to three weeks now.

OK -the next stage is pure elation and hope -you see the light and no longer feel as desperate and want to share this new information with everyone and anyone. As the months go by and your child continues to progress at a much more rapid rate -you may even start to doubt the original diagnosis -especially if you started EFA supplementation at two -and perhaps the SLP that diagnosed the apraxia who also was at first excited is starting to second guess if the original diagnosis was correct as well.

Unless you have to stop the NNProEFA 3.6.9. (or other Essential Fatty Acids) and literally have the chance to see the regression of acquired speech and language skills, attempts, and changes in behavior like we did with Tanner (and/or have a chance to again witness the second surge when your child is put back on the EFAs) -that doubt will probably remain somewhere in your mind and in others around your child. So the “I told you that he would start talking when he was ready” comments should be expected of course.

The child on NNProEFA 3.6.9. or some other EFA formula’s like it no longer fits the criteria of the classic definition of apraxia -and yet doesn’t fit the classic perception of what a late talker is either. The brain responds to multiple stimuli and even if children on fish oil no longer present with the original diagnosis, they will still require appropriate speech therapy. And while most of this information is focused on speech and communication impairments, fish oils are beneficial for numerous conditions from cardiovascular to psychological conditions as they contain the essential fatty acids. With a slightly different formula of fish oils containing high EPA to DHA and an even smaller amount of GLA, the fish oils are also extremely beneficial for those diagnosed with ADHD. There are numerous cases of children that due to the effectiveness of fish oils, were kept off prescribed drugs for ADHD with known serious side effects.

What Percentage Of Children Have Benefits With Fish Oils?

According to researcher Dr. Jacqueline Stordy, and author of The LCP Solution, who presented at a conference at the UNC School of Medicine Chapel Hill on fish oils and apraxia, the results are around 80 percent success rate with the right formula. Formula is key for success.

Me and my son Tanner when he was younger

We hope to raise monies for clinical research to validate the importance of Omega 3 and 6 fatty acids Until there is research, share all with your child’s ped -many neurologists today are more knowledgeable about the importance of EFAs even if your pediatrician still has little to share in this area.

While looking into fish oils which contain essential fatty acids, you may also want to explore with your child’s doctor essential amino acids and nutrients through diet as well. We have had incredible success with essential nutrients and there is extensive and growing research on the importance of these essential nutrients. Essential nutrients are needed daily but the body can’t produce them so they need to be consumed in the diet. The problem is many diets today are poor, and add to that compromised metabolic systems. The purest form of supplementation is through food.

Essential fatty acids, essential amino acids and essential nutrients may be confusing…but good news is that we don’t have to understand everything about good nutrition to see it have positive effects!

Email us or provide feedback below if you have any questions or comments!

Warning from Nordic Naturals

The professional line of Nordic Naturals is the preferred line by most. You can only purchase the professional line at an authorized distributor online such as http://www.speech411.com or https://getiqed.com/collections/nordic-naturals-professional or from a healthcare professional. Very few online sites are authorized to sell the professional line even though you can find it all over, for example on Amazon. There has been a rise in fraudulent sellers including on Amazon. Don’t purchase the professional line of Nordic Naturals at Amazon as nobody selling there is authorized to sell there. The issue with that isn’t just buying a product that wasn’t authorized to be sold on a particular website. Amazon has a problem with fraudulent sellers mainly from China (see some of the references below) and this problem is not just limited to fish oils, and it’s not just limited to Amazon. Nordic Naturals has hired a company to help them as they purchased some of the bottles or NN ProEFA 369 sold on Amazon and some were packed with cotton. They do not pack their fish oils with cotton which means you do not know what is in those capsules, or where they were packed. As you can see from the links below at times the product’s exact description and sometimes reviews all look legitimate. When a product is counterfeit however and there are side effects or injuries, the customer and the actual manufacturer are the ones that suffer. Example of how this is not just a fish oil issue

Why is nutrition important? A talk by Dr. Martha Herbert

LISA GENG

Lisa Geng got her start as a designer, patented inventor,and creator in the fashion, toy, and film industries, but after the early diagnosis of her young children she entered the world of nonprofit, pilot studies, and advocacy. As the mother of two “late talkers,” she is the founder and president of the nonprofit CHERAB Foundation,co-author of the acclaimed book, The Late Talker, (St Martin’s Press 2003), and is instrumental in the development of IQed, a whole food nutrition meal replacement. Lisacurrently serves as a parent advocate on an AAN board for vaccines, and is a member of CUE through Cochrane US. Lisa is currently working on a second book, The Late Talker Grows Up and serves as a Late Talkers, Silent Voices executive producer. She lives on the Treasure Coast of Florida.

You are so cool! So nice to find this site with unique thoughts about fish oils and nutrition and the links to our children with special needs. Really thanks for getting this topic out in the open. Outside of drugs these are things we as parents need to know about, and you present them with originality. Again thanks!

You are so welcome! I do what I do because I remember what it was like when my son Tanner was diagnosed with apraxia and there was so little information. I want to make sure all of our children, no matter what age or diagnosis, are provided the best opportunity for a voice and a chance for a verbal future. There really is so much hope! Lisa Geng

Thank you so much for the info and the book! Amazing! My child has improved lots since taking pro efa 6 months ago. Should I add on pro EPA as well? He has made tremendous progress but seemed to have plataeud in the past month.

You don’t mention how much ProEFA you are using. One or two capsules- or are you using the liquid? And if so how much. Also is your child on NV as well because that would make a difference too -but I’m suspecting not if your child has plateaued.

OMG… This article was just posted to FB and I am SO glad to see it! It has been a LONG time since we have spoken Lisa, but to this day I reference the ProEFA/Omega 3&6 information I learned from you during our work together with the Cherab Foundation while you were in NJ. In fact just shared it with a family after an IEP meeting on Friday as I see the changes kids make once they start taking it! I am so happy to see your advocacy efforts are still going strong! You were missed once you left NJ! Hope you and your family are doing well. If you need any SI OT support for any of the families you work with let me know. Would be glad to help out again where I can!

Hi Lisa! I enthusiastically went searching for proEFA and I’m seeing that the amounts of EPA/DHA and GLA have changed with their latest product. They are now 135 EPA, 90 mg DHA and 33 mg GLA. Will that make a big difference? And how many capsules a day should my 5 yr old be taking. He’s small for his age at just under 40 pounds. Thanks – we’re hoping this works!

HI, Thanks for such elaborate description on fish oil. I’m not sure if you are still answering questions on this blog… but one quick question. My son is 19 months. I have been giving him 2 capsule of ProEFA and half capsule of Nordic Naturals Cod liver Oil and half capsule of ProEPA every day now for the past 2 months. I have seen some improvement in his speech. But few days ago I have come across an article that states that children under 2 should be getting more DHA than EFA.. And only children over 2 should receive more EFA to DHA.. Am concerned that I have been giving him the wrong dosage.. Do you have any information on this matter?

Hi Lisa, I am hoping you are checking this great site. I have a 26 month old daughter who may have motor and speech apraxia. Althought it has not been confirmed, they believe her delay is due to the apraxia…this has been said to us by two different doctors (neurodevelopmental and autism research doctor). They also mentioned that Apraxia cannot be diagnosed at an early age. However, I have made the decision to not wait, and purchased the ProEFA and the ProEPA from the site you reccomended above. I see on different comments something about NV. Is this something I should also be adding to her food as well.

I purchased both ProEFA and ProEPA capsules, and I believe the dosage to give is two ProEFA capsules, and one ProEPA capsule. I will be extracting the liquid and mixing this with her bottle. Is this ok, and is this the correct dosage to give to her.

I also would like to know what is the benefit of giving this to a child with no speech issues? Can this be given to a child that does not have apraxia and no speech issues? I am thinking of giving this to my 3 year old child as well.

Any information you can provide, I greatly appreciate it. Is your son still taking the ProEFA and ProEPA? I would love to hear more about your experience with a child with Apraxia, as we dont really know where to start.
We are confused as to what to do or not to do. One one side the two doctors mentioned there is a chance she has apraxia and on the other hand the two therapists she has been seeing for about a year say they do not see her as having apraxia. We are also trying to determine if these therapies should be cancelled, as they really have not helped our daughter much. The neurologist says the best treatment is at home and daycare, and therapies dont help much since its only 45 minutes a week. Any help is greatly appreciated it. THANK YOU SO MUCH!

I don’t recommend the NNgummies -I recommend the NNNordic fishies which have 300mg of Omega 3s per ONE fishie according to the NN website
The gummie you shared has in comparison 90 mg of Omega 3 per FOUR gummies according to their website (so 20 something mg a gummie?)

In general I don’t even recommend the NN Nordic fishies either unless you can’t get fish oils into your child as they are so expensive in comparison to fish oil like NNProEFA and NNProEPA.

As far as a gummie vitamin….I’m the mom behind IQed by the way https://getiqed.com/pages/meet-our-team and prefer food sources for vitaqmins like my IQed which is all natural and replaces the need for a vitamin and can be used as a full meal replacement even for picky eaters https://getiqed.com

Thank you for sharing this information. I’ve bookmarked this page and have found this to be incredibly useful as every time I have a question I come here and search for it and find the answer I’m looking for.

If I may offer some constructive criticism, uou may want to think about splitting up this page into a few different pages as there is so much to take in I don’t believe the average person will be able to grasp all of it.

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Lisa Geng

Lisa Geng got her start as a designer, patented inventor,and creator in
the fashion, toy, and film industries, but after the early diagnosis of
her young children she entered the world of nonprofit, pilot studies,
and advocacy. As the mother of two “late talkers,” she is the founder
and president of the nonprofit CHERAB Foundation,co-author of the
acclaimed book, The Late Talker, (St Martin’s Press 2003), and is
instrumental in the development of IQed, a whole food nutrition meal
replacement. Lisacurrently serves as a parent advocate on an AAN board
for vaccines, and is a member of CUE through Cochrane US. Lisa is
currently working on a second book, The Late Talker Grows Up and serves
as a Late Talkers, Silent Voices executive producer. She lives on the
Treasure Coast of Florida.